Three steps — with one detail specific to this aircraft
You have booked the aircraft as well as the hour, and that changes the scheduling slightly.
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Your confirmation arrives in writing
An email with your date and time, to the address you booked with. Keep it. Forward it to whoever is coming with you.
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We call the day before to confirm weather, timing and the aircraft
The usual weather and timing call, plus a check that the SR22 is confirmed for your slot. There are far fewer of these than there are trainers on the field, so we confirm the airframe as well as the hour.
Please both arrive 15 minutes before your booked time, and we will tell you on that call roughly how long to allow for the whole visit. If you are running late, call us — more than 30 minutes late has to be treated as a no-show and the flight is charged in full, because the aircraft and the instructor are held for your slot either way.
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You arrive at Suite 108A and meet the aircraft
Most people spend a minute just looking at it before they get in. That is normal. Your instructor is used to it and will happily walk you round it before the briefing starts.
How to find us
LA Flight School7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A
Van Nuys, CA 91406 Suite 108A
Getting to the right door
7900 Balboa Blvd is a shared multi-tenant hangar complex at Van Nuys Airport, with a number of unrelated aviation businesses operating out of it. The street number gets you to the car park; the suite number gets you to us.
Head for Suite 108A. Come in there rather than wandering the ramp looking for the airplane — we will take you out to it.
Parking is out front. Cannot see the entrance? Call (818) 290-8249 and someone will walk out to you.
7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406 — use the Directions button for turn-by-turn.
Bring less than you think
The aircraft supplies the impressive part. You supply five small things.
Photo ID for each of you
One each. Anyone 18 or over taking part in the US needs a valid federal or state photo ID — a driver license is ideal. Anyone taking part from outside the US needs a valid passport.
Closed-toe shoes
You still step onto a wing to get into an SR22 — it is a low-wing airplane and there is a marked walkway. Proper shoes, both of you.
Layers
The cabin is more comfortable than a trainer's, but it is still an airplane parked in the sun before it is an airplane in the air.
Sunglasses
More useful here than in most aircraft — the SR22 has a lot of glass and the panel is two large bright displays.
Camera or phone
The panel photographs as well as the view does. Your instructor will tell you when it is a sensible moment.
Weight and balance matter in every aircraft, including this one. The SR22 is limited to 200 lbs per person and 400 lbs for the two of you combined. It is a safety limit rather than a preference — the aircraft has to be loaded inside its weight and balance envelope, and fuel is planned around it. If either of you is over the limit at check-in we cannot fly, and the booking is charged in full and forfeited, the same as a cancellation inside 24 hours. That is not a conversation anyone wants at the desk, so if either figure is close please call us on (818) 290-8249 first and we will sort it out in advance.
Who can fly. Anyone under 18 must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian, and we are not able to carry children under 5.
What flying an SR22 is actually like
The sequence is the same as any first lesson. The aircraft is not.
A briefing that includes the parachute
Your instructor will cover the controls and the plan, and then point out the handle above your heads. The SR22 carries a whole-airframe parachute — a rocket-deployed canopy that brings the entire airplane down under it. It is a genuinely unusual piece of engineering and it is one of the reasons people choose this airframe. You will be shown what it is and when it would be used.
A walkaround of a composite airplane
No rivets. The SR22 is moulded composite, and up close it looks more like a boat hull than a Cessna. You will check fuel, oil, the control surfaces and the tyres with your instructor, the same as in any aircraft — it just feels different under your hand.
Sitting down at a glass cockpit
Instead of a row of round dials there are two large screens: one showing what the aircraft is doing, one showing where it is and what is around it. And instead of a yoke in front of your chest, a side yoke by your left hand — you fly it a bit like you would steer with a wrist rather than an arm.
A turbocharged climb out of Van Nuys
You will notice this. Turbocharging keeps the engine making power as you climb, so the SR22 goes up in a way trainers do not, and it does it while staying quieter and smoother inside than most people expect from a light aircraft.
You fly it — and so does the other one of you
Out of the pattern the instructor hands you the aircraft: turns, climbs, levelling off, following what the screens are telling you. Then you swap so you both get time at the controls. Sensitive is the word people reach for — it responds to very small inputs.
Back on the ramp, and a logbook entry
Shut down, a short debrief, and a logbook entry signed by your instructor.
If either of you is now quietly wondering what owning one of these involves, ask. It is a conversation we have most weeks.
Weather, and why the aircraft makes it slightly tighter
Low cloud, strong wind or poor visibility and we do not fly. That is the same for every aircraft on the field, however capable it is.
The difference with this booking is availability: there is one SR22, not a row of trainers. If we have to move you for weather, we are finding a slot where both the aircraft and an instructor are free, which can take a little more juggling. We will always get you flown — it is worth being flexible on the replacement date if you can be.
We call you. You will never be left standing on the ramp wondering, and if we cancel for weather, maintenance, airspace or any other safety reason we move you to another day at no cost. Call or text (818) 290-8249 if anything changes at your end.
Rescheduling is free with 48 hours notice or more. Inside 48 hours there is a $50 rebooking fee, and a cancellation inside 48 hours or a no-show is charged in full. All sales are non-refundable — but the booking is transferable to someone else free of charge with 48 hours written notice, so it never has to go to waste.
Ask about the aircraft — people always do
The parachute, the screens, what it costs to own one, whether you could learn in it. All fair questions and all easily answered before you turn up.
Call the school
(818) 290-8249Best for date changes or anything time-sensitive.
Call nowAnswered 9 AM – 9 PM, 7 days
Send a text
(818) 290-8249Good for a quick question between now and the day.
Text usUsually the quickest during the day
Email us
alex@laflightschool.comBest if you want the long answer in writing.
Open emailSame-day reply, most days
The small print, if you want it: Discovery Flight Terms & Conditions · Return & Refund Policy · Terms of Service · Privacy Policy
Most people ask the same question on the walk back in
“Could I actually learn to fly this?” Come and sit down with us for half an hour at Suite 108A and we will tell you honestly what that path looks like in time and money. It is free and there is nothing to buy.
No obligation, no chasing. 7900 Balboa Blvd, Suite 108A, Van Nuys, CA 91406 · 9 AM – 9 PM, 7 days.